Joe Root had to relinquish the England Test captaincy due to the toll it started to take on his personal life as he felt like a "zombie".
The Yorkshire and England batter succeeded Alastair Cook as red-ball captain in 2017 and resigned last April after a torrid run of one win in 17 Tests, with a 1-0 series defeat to West Indies the final straw.
Root still delivered remarkable returns with the bat in 2021, despite England's struggles, scoring 1,708 runs in 15 matches, including two double centuries and a further four tons.
A new Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum era has somewhat transformed England's red-ball cricket, with two convincing series triumphs over New Zealand and South Africa either side of victory over India to secure a draw in the rescheduled meeting.
Root has still played a vital role, scoring three Test centuries since stepping down as captain, though he admitted the change was necessary after the role had started to impact him.
"The captaincy was starting to take a toll on me," Root told the Mail on Sunday.
"The limited time I did get to spend with family, which should be enjoyed and treasured, I wasn't able to do that. I wasn't really there. I came to realise that that had been the case for a little while.
"There were times when I was thinking about something I couldn't control or something that hadn't happened previously. You go in on yourself.
"We would still do what we would normally do as a family, but I would not be listening. I just felt like a bit of a zombie almost.
"I could start seeing it have an impact on me as a person. You want to bring your personality to the role, not bring the role to your personality. It was reversing into something slightly unhealthy."
Root will hope to continue to support Stokes' England as McCullum's side head to Pakistan for a three-Test series, which starts on December 1 at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Pakistan bowlers shine to hand West Indies first loss of tour in fourth T20I
West Indies Women suffered their first loss on their tour of Pakistan as the hosts secured an eight-wicket win in the fourth T20 International at the Karachi National Stadium on Thursday.
Excellent Pakistan bowling meant the tourists were restricted to just 84-9 off their 20 overs after winning the toss and batting first.
Shemaine Campbelle (26), Zaida James (19) and Jannilea Glasgow (10) were the only West Indian batters to get double-figures as Sadia Iqbal and Nida Dar dominated with 3-18 from four overs and 3-19 from four overs, respectively.
Pakistan then needed only 16.3 overs to reach 87-2 and secure their first win of the series. Ayesha Zafar led the way with 42* off 48 balls while Gull Feroza finished 21* off 24 balls.
Afy Fletcher and Shamilia Connell took a wicket, each, for the Windies.
Full Scores: West Indies Women 84-9 (Shemaine Campbelle 26, Sadia Iqbal 3-18, Nida Dar 3-19)
Pakistan Women 87-2 (Ayesha Zafar 42*, Gull Feroza 21*, Afy Fletcher 1-6, Shamilia Connell 1-8)
West Indies beat Pakistan in thrilling final-over finish to take unassailable 3-0 lead in T20I series
Hayley Matthews starred once again to lead the West Indies Women to a tense two-run win over Pakistan Women in the third T20I at the Karachi National Stadium on Tuesday.
The tourists first posted 132-5 from their 20 overs after being put in to bat.
Matthews led the way with a 49-ball 68 including 10 fours while Shemaine Campbelle provided good support with 31 against 2-22 from Fatima Sana.
Pakistan were then restricted to 130-8 from their 20 overs in reply.
Sidra Ameen led the way with 63 off 58 balls including seven fours.
Afy Fletcher took 2-20 from her four overs while Matthews completed a fine al-round performance with 2-22 from her four overs.
Pakistan at one point were cruising at 119-3 in the 18th over before a pair of Matthews wickets led to a collapse saw the hosts losing their next five wickets for just six runs.
In the end, Shamilia Connell successfully defended 12 runs in the final over.
The West Indies now hold an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series with the final two games set for Thursday and Friday.
Full Scores: West Indies Women 132-5 (Hayley Matthews 68, Shemaine Campbelle 31, Fatima Sana 2-22)
Pakistan Women 130-8 (Sidra Ameen 63, Afy Fletcher 2-20, Hayley Matthews 2-22)
Babar's captain's innings leads Pakistan to victory as series drawn with New Zealand
Babar Azam top scored as he led his Pakistan team to a nine-run victory over New Zealand in Lahore that saw the five-game T20I series end in a draw.
Babar hit 69 runs off 44 balls before being bowled by Ben Sears, smashing six fours and two sixes to take his team to 123/3 at the time of his dismissal.
Fakhar Zaman (43 from 33) and Usman Khan (31 off 24) also chipped in with important innings as Pakistan ended on 178/5.
With a target of 179 to secure a 3-1 series victory, New Zealand's run chase faltered almost immediately as opener Tom Blundell was removed within the first over with his team having managed just five runs on the board.
Blundell's fellow opener Tim Seifert steadied the ship with a vital 52-run innings off 33 deliveries before being bowled by Usama Mir, but Shaheen Shah Afridi led the way for Pakistan, finishing with figures of 4-30 to stem the New Zealand run chase
Josh Clarkson's 38 off 26 set up a nervy conclusion, but Pakistan held on to avoid defeat in the T20 series as the teams share the spoils at two wins apiece after the first game was abandoned.
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